County Corrects Solid Waste User Fee Billing

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

(Monticello) - County Manager David Fanslau took administrative action Wednesday
to correct solid waste user fee billings that were erroneously issued. The
Solid Waste User Fee Local Law was not intended to be applied to vacant land;
however, certain real property class codes were erroneously billed.

"The specific real property class codes that are to be corrected will be
removed from the warrants of the Town Tax Collectors, and corrected bills will
be issued”, said Fanslau. This action will preempt any unnecessary charges or
fees associated with the real property class codes that were erroneously
billed.

The Solid Waste User Fee schedule was approved by the County Legislature in
December 2009, and was effective for fiscal/calendar year 2010. The Solid Waste
User Fee generates revenues to fund the Solid Waste System, and is applied to
all real property parcels that have improvements on them, including parcels that
are exempt from the real property tax system. In past years, the County's
Property Taxpayers subsidized the Solid Waste System through the County"s
General Fund.

There has been a Special Revenue Fund established to fund the all-in costs of
the Solid Waste System of the County. This Special Revenue Fund was created to
prevent the use of the proceeds for any other purpose but for costs directly
associated with the Solid Waste System.

“Many years ago, the County issued bonds to fund the Solid Waste System;
however, during those years a debt service reserve was not established. The
landfill has reached capacity, but there remains a $40 million debt to be repaid
through 2022, as well as, about $1.2 million in annual post-closure costs that
the County will have to fund for a thirty year period,” Fanslau said. The Solid
Waste User Fee will partially fund the expenses of the Solid Waste System, with
the remainder funded through disposal fees at the Transfer Stations and
convenience centers.

The County has executed an agreement with IESI Corporation to manage a
portion of the Solid Waste System. The County Landfill in Monticello is now
closed, having reached capacity.

All Municipal and Commercial haulers will utilize the Ferndale Transfer
Station Monday through Friday, on an interim basis, until Commercial haulers may
be received at the Mamakating Station, and until the centralized Transfer
Station is constructed in Monticello.

New Operating Hours for 2010:

The operating schedule for the Convenience and Transfer Stations for 2010 is
as follows:

Convenience Centers:

Highland

-Open to Residential Waste Only

-Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 7:45am - 2:45pm

Western Sullivan:

-Open to Residential Waste Only

-Wednesday and Saturday, 7:45am – 2:45pm

Rockland:

-Open to Residential Waste Only

-Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 7:45 – 2:45pm

Monticello (Landfill):

-Open to Residential Waste Only

-Monday – Friday, 7:45AM – 2:45PM, Saturday 7:45AM – 12PM

Transfer Stations:

Mamakating:

-Temporarily Open to Residential Customers Only, Will be Open to Municipal
Sanitation Departments and Commercial Waste Haulers in Early 2010

The Ferndale Transfer Station will no longer be accepting cash, effective
January 18, 2010. Only coupons, checks or money orders will be accepted at this
location.

Existing coupons may be used through February 1, 2010, at which point the
coupons must be used in denominations commensurate with the per bag fee, or
turned in for new coupons reflecting the current per bag price.

Coupons may be purchased at any of the transfer or convenience stations
throughout Sullivan County, but only checks or money orders will be accepted as
payment.

The following rates are only applicable for Sullivan County residents.
Out-of-county residents seeking to use the Solid Waste system must pay the $85
solid waste user fee to access the system.

The tipping fee for Municipal Solid Waste at Sullivan County Transfer
stations equipped with scales will change from $75 to $85.

Please take note that Sullivan County will no longer accept
commercially-generated roll-off containers with construction and demolition
debris until further notice. The tipping fee for residential-generated
Construction and Demolition Debris and Bulky Waste at Sullivan County Transfer
Station in Ferndale equipped with scales: $125 per ton.